Congratulations to the Mali Elephant Project Team!

APE is delighted to hear that our friends at the Mali Elephant Project have been recognised for all their hard work, by winning the prestigious 2017 Equator Prize. The Equator Prize is organised by the Equator Initiative, within the UN Development Programme and is awarded biennially to recognise outstanding community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.

We have previously spoken about the Mali Elephant Project, which began in 2003, over on our blog here and also here. The project recognises the importance of elephants, not only as beautiful, endangered species, but as a vital addition to our ecosystem. In addition, as part of the task, Dr. Susan Canney spent many years implementing a successful initiative to protect the elephants while creating meaningful work for young Malian men.

One of our founders, Kenny, has known Dr. Susan Canney for many years, having initially met in Mali (which also happens to be where many of the songs for the new RDM album were recorded). APE has supported the project from the very beginning, at one stage providing much-needed funding to replace solar panels, as well as championing the team’s ongoing work.